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Humans
Humans are one of the primary native species to Duniya, next to halflings and dwarves, since the fall of the Giant Empire. They are the majority species and comprise the main population of the Tribal Republic, the Lone Kingdoms of Akarui and Hiyokuna, as well as the Graywild extensions of both the Eladrani Empire and Drow Empire. History Pre-First Age Records of human presence and activity predate the First Age by several centuries, if not millennia. Human civilization at the time is generally regarded as having been brutal and anarchic, with communities mostly existing as warring nomadic packs. The transition into the First Age is marked by the rise to power of a shaman named Ungnyeo, a Nopeun Namu woman, who helped to organize and standardize animistic worship as a means to uniting her people. Her children continued her legacy into organizing tribes across Duniya into a network of sixty communities; each was shamanically focused on one of the five Wu Xing elements and one of the twelve Zodiac animals. This network became known as the Tribal Republic, the first wide-spread governing body on Duniya following the decline of the Giant Empire centuries prior. First Age The first age of Duniya, also called the Tribal Age, is generally regarded as the most peaceful of the post-Giant ages. The Tribal Republic spanned from the East coast to the West coast, from the Northern arctic regions to the tropical Southern territories, circling the Great Desert at the heart of the continent. While the individual tribes themselves existed few and far between in a vastly uncolonized world, they maintained strong connections that would last for thousands of years. The leadership of the tribes was held exclusively by the Therians and Shifters, but the majority of the populations were human, followed by halflings. Outside of the Republic, a few colonies of humans managed to establish themselves on the far coasts. The city of Hiyokuna, also known as the Golden Tower, became a stronghold in the East, while Akarui was planted in the West. Together, they are known as the Lone Kingdoms. The two kingdoms existed separately from the Republic, relationships maintained or severed on individual bases with different tribes. One of the main neighbors of the human societies were the dwarves of the three Dwarven Kingdoms. The Tribal Republic maintained their relationships based on territorial boundaries while the Lone Kingdoms negotiated trade treaties. Historically, the dwarves are regarded as fairly isolationist so neither government got very far in establishing relationships, but war was never opened with the Dwarven Kingdoms. Aside from the dwarves, humans had very antagonistic relationships with the other native species of Duniya, such as orcs, goblinoids, and gnolls for a few. There was a great deal of competition for resources between all of the dominant species. While humans excelled in their development of technology and utilization of materials, many of the neighboring species, such as orcs, outpaced them in combat and aggression, so there often were stalemates for generations at a time. The end of the First Age is marked by the arrival of the first elven convoys from the Feywild and Shadowild. Eladrani ambassadors approached the humans of Hiyokuna, while the drow approached Akarui. Both empires summarily ignored the Tribal Republic. As both elven empires worked their way into the governing bodies of the Lone Kingdoms, the First Age came to an end. Second Age The Second Age, or the Elven Age, began with the official accession of Hiyokuna into the Eladrani Empire and Akarui into the Drow Empire. In the instance of Akarui, the government was otherwise left intact, allowing for conspiracy theories to arise as to the nature of the drow and their involvement in Akarui politics. Meanwhile, the eladrani were more aggressive with the Hiyokuna government, first establishing themselves as eminent religious authorities in the city and eventually taking over as heads-of-state. The legendary Battle of Hiyokuna between the Eladrani Empire and the rebel organization, the Mushinkei, which took place in the first millennia of the Second Age, left the city destroyed. The greater majority of the city population was evacuated into the Feywild, while the holy army of the Empire occupied the ruins of the city to retake it from the anti-theist forces of the Mushinkei. The insurgents were eventually driven out and Hiyokuna was reclaimed and rebuilt as a military society and headquarters for the Empire's presence in the Graywild. It was at this time that High Priest Ku assumed leadership of the human population, completing its absorption into the Empire. While the balance of power in the East was destabilized several times in the transition from the First Age to the Second, the accession of Akarui into the Drow Empire was done very quietly and innocuously. Reports of the relations between the humans and dark elves in the West were few, but reflected positively. However, this conversely resulted in the continuing growth of suspicion both within and around the Akarui Kingdom about the political purity of the government. Religion Kami Prior to and during the First Age, humans mostly worshiped the five Kami as well as a multitude of minor kami. Religious practice was mostly animistic and shamanic, as well as focusing on elemental magic and ancestor worship. The Wu Xing was also fundamental to human religious practices at the time. Worship of the Kami declined rapidly over the course of the First Age and was an obscure practice by the beginning of the Second Age. The magic and lore of the practices was maintained by small communities, but much has been lost. Ungnyeo and her Children With her rise to power, Ungnyeo became regarded as a mortal-born goddess. Her prowess and wisdom as a shaman was unparalleled, capitalized by her propagating the first of the therian races. While her ultimate fate is unknown objectively, she has been immortalized in myth and legend along with her children. In some circles, the more she is venerated, the more the validity of her having existed in the first place is debated. The twelve children of Ungnyeo are more vehemently defended as having truly lived, the still existing lines of Republic therian and shifter families serving as proof. Within the Tribal Republic, therians and shifters are regarded with divine deference, seen as literal descendants of a goddess. Outside of the Republic, the religious weight they carry is still respected, if not believed fundamentally. Izanagi and Izanami As the Tribal Republic worshiped the Kami, Ungnyeo, and her children, the populations of the Lone Kingdoms and other independent settlements turned their faith to Izanagi and Izanami, the gods credited with the creation of the human and halfling peoples. The animistic practices of the Republic lead those populations to believe that humanity had evolved from Duniya, while the religious devotees in the Lone Kingdoms were more inclined to believe in a divine parentage with Izanagi and Izanami. For thousands of years, the two were worshiped side by side as the ideal couple, surpassing the bonds of siblings or of marriage. The arrival of the elven ambassadors and clerics shook the foundation of humanity's faith in Izanagi and Izanami. Both the eladrani and the drow spoke of the cataclysmic schism that had come between Izanagi and Izanami and that the two had fallen into a bloody war. The humans and halflings were accused with having disappointed their progenitors and that the two gods created the eladrani and drow respectively to rule over humanity and halflingkind and carry out a holy war. Pantheon In addition to worship of Izanagi and Izanami, humans also venerated the Pantheon, a circle of seven gods and goddesses. They were generally regarded as secondary to the Twin Gods, as ruling over lesser aspects of life than what Izanagi and Izanami had to offer in exchange for worship. However, after the arrival of the elves and the declared schism between the two gods, worship of the Pantheon was abolished and outlawed within the borders of the eladrani and drow empires. Buddha Near the end of the First Age, a monk by the name of Gotama Deneki, a prodigal prince of Hiyokuna, had developed a small following of other monks who addressed him as Buddha or "the Enlightened One." He traveled Duniya in the advent of the elven empires, offering alternative teachings to the war mongering of the eladrani specifically. Like the Pantheon, worship of Buddha and following Buddhist teachings was strictly outlawed. However, in many smaller communities on the outskirts of the Empires or beyond their borders entirely were many who took to the Buddhist teachings and alternative world view. Language The primary language of humans is called "Common", though this is likely so because of humanity's dominant presence in Duniya. The alphabet is shared only with halflings and their eponymous language. (When depicted as heard by a non-Common speaker, the language is represented by an approximation of the Earth language of Hindi. This is demonstrated in the apocryphal story "Priestesses.") Ethnicities The human population is divided into many ethnic groups, the five largest are listed here: Duoi Nam For the most part, the Duoi Nam are found on the South-Eastern and South-Western coasts of Duniya, populating the coastal cities and villages. (The Duoi Nam are a mirror population to the people of Vietnam on Earth.) Nadee Lok The Nadee Lok are the second largest subpopulation of humans after the Taiyoko Sen. Many Nadee Lok families rose to prominence and leadership in the cities of Akarui and Hiyokuna. (The Nadee Lok are a mirror population to the people of India on Earth.) Nopeun Namu The Nopeun Namu are mostly associated with the Tribal Republic and their territories. Ungnyeo and her children are reportedly of the Nopeun Namu. (The Nopeun Namu are a mirror population to the people of Korea on Earth.) Si Ye Originally the smallest population of humans, in the Second Age the Si Ye grew in prominence with the assimilation into the eladrani and drow empires. Some scholars theorize the cultural similarities between the Si Ye and the elves is proof of the Twin Gods being the common divine parents between humans and elves. (The Si Ye are a mirror population to the people of China on Earth.) Taiyoko Sen The largest population of humans in Duniya, the Taiyoko Sen can be found in largest numbers on the Eastern and Western coasts of Duniya, but are also scattered throughout the continent in between. They are credited with being the founders of the cities of Akarui and Hiyokuna. (The Taiyoko Sen are a mirror population to the people of Japan on Earth.) (The humans of Duniya are a very diverse species and expand beyond just these five ethnic groups. If you are building a human character for a Legends of Duniya game, feel free to look beyond these populations into other societies of Asia for inspiration.) Diaspora While humans are native to all of Duniya, there are diasporic communities in both the Feywild and Shadowild, resulting from the inclusion of Akarui and Hiyokuna into the elven empires. Feywild Though humans had begun to root themselves very minutely in the Feywild beforehand, the most significant establishment of a human presence in the Feywild was after the Battle of Hiyokuna and thousands of people were evacuated across the veil to refuge. While many returned to the Graywild once it was safe to do so, many remained and began small communities. These humans are referred to as "feyborn." With the acceptance of human refugees into their cities, it became allowed for humans to interbreed with eladrani, resulting in a small but significant population of half-elves. Shadowild As no catastrophic an event as the Battle of Hiyokuna occurred in Akarui, the intermix between the Western Graywild and the Shadowild is minimal. However, there have been reports of humans living rogue in the Shadowild as early as the later years of the First Age. Player Mechanics The ethnic background of a human character has no technical bearing on game mechanics, in terms of build. The Player's Handbook offers two options for building a human character: standard and variant. Neither option is reliant on a particular ethnic background or lends itself to any of them specifically.